


only one who knows

by azulamitys



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Imbalance Comics (Avatar), Post-Canon, i just want suki to be loved, suki centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:21:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26799502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azulamitys/pseuds/azulamitys
Summary: And all of a sudden Suki was sixteen again, allowing herself to melt in the arms of the boy she loved – loves.[sukka]
Relationships: Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 50





	only one who knows

**Author's Note:**

> it’s been so long since I’ve actually written something, but im having many feelings about sukka again and i just had to do something for them 
> 
> please forgive me for any mistakes, english is not my first language and i write mostly for myself

After the bender supremacists left, Suki stopped having any notion of time. 

She was mostly trying to keep herself calm. The rocks around her were tight and it was hard to breathe properly, so she couldn’t allow herself to panic. 

The other guards weren’t in a better situation, so they were also very quiet. There’s nothing that they could do right now to free themselves, so they had to wait for the avatar. 

_(They weren’t benders, after all.)_

Sokka might’ve tried to talk to her, but it was hard to tell. The benders locked him in a cage made of rocks, he couldn’t even look at the sky, so he had to chill or he would run out of air quickly – the mere thought of it was enough to make Suki’s heart race, so she had to keep her mind clean and forget about her boyfriend too. 

Luckily, it didn’t take long for her friends to come – or the hours started to pass too quickly for her. She saw Toph making a small movement with her hands and she was free again. 

Suki took a deep breath, trying to fulfill her lungs again. Her body was still aching, so she had to sit on the rocks that were imprisoning her a few minutes ago. 

“Are you okay?” Sokka was standing next to her. 

She raised her eyes to look at him, forcing a small smile while nodding with her head. He obviously didn’t buy it, since he was still looking at her with concern all over his face. 

“Nope, you’re not.” Sokka shook his head, and now he was on his knees to meet her eyes properly. “What’s on your mind?”

Suki left out a small giggle, genuinely amazed. Not even her was very sure of what she was feeling right now, but that’s probably not a good sign either. 

“Well, my waist still hurts.” She raised her shirt a little, showing the purple and red marks of where the rock was holding her. 

She was expecting Sokka to tease her, saying that he saw her enduring worse – like almost dying in the 100 years war –, but now he seemed even more desperate. She should’ve seen this coming, her boyfriend can get really paranoid about the people he cares about. 

“Suki, wow, you-“

“Don’t worry about it, at least I can breathe better now.” She hurried up to add. “But what about you? Are you hurt?” 

“You’re doing it again.” 

“Doing what?”

“That thing when you don’t want to talk about yourself so you change the subject to me.” He explained. _Did she really do that?_

“You do the same thing.” 

“Yeah, and that’s why I know when you do it and why we’re perfect for each other!” Suki chuckled. “And I’m fine, I barely got the chance to fight those jerks, but I want to know about you. Your eyes can be really distant when you’re thinking too much, you know?”

He reached one of her hands, gently caressing it while sitting in front of her with his legs crossed. For some reason her mind went back to their first kiss. There was so much adrenaline, her heart missing a beat – just like it was right now –, the gentle touch of his lips and his warm embrace. It was probably the first time that she actually felt so vulnerable around someone, knowing for sure that she could fall if he didn’t hold her in that moment. Right now, she was having a similar feeling. There weren’t any butterflies in her stomach, but if she tried to stand up she could fall on Sokka again. 

Suki liked this feeling of meaning the world to someone. And Sokka was looking at her like he was about to crumble for not knowing how to make her feel better. 

“If I’m being honest, I’m not really sure where my mind is right now. I’m not necessarily feeling bad, it’s just a lot to process, I guess.” She shrugged. 

“Hm, yeah, that makes sense.” Sokka said, but it was easy to tell that he was still worried. “So this was overwhelming to you, right?” 

“You could say that, yes.” She nodded after spending a few seconds in silence. 

Everything was very fast in her head and very slow at the same time, but hearing Sokka’s voice was somehow helping her to catch up with her own thoughts. 

“Why do you think that happened today?” He asked. “I mean, it was frustrating seeing them just… beating us and walking away, but it was nothing like what we've fought before.” 

“I’m… Not sure.” She looked down at her hands, noticing how Sokka was still holding it. “It might be because it was such a different type of fight.”

“How so?”

It was hard for Suki to think of an answer. This was a new feeling for her, like everything has been in the past two years. Leaving the village, finding her place in the war, falling in love, going to a high security prison, almost dying… Well, it’s a lot for someone who's spent their entire life in the place to deal with. 

And she likes to pretend that everything’s under control, but sometimes the new be very overwhelming. Suddenly the answer was clear in her head. 

“I think I’m just not used to seeing people actually caring or even mentioning that I’m a non bender.” She said slowly, still organizing her thoughts. “I spent most of my life on Kyoshi Island, being one of the main protectors of the village. And then I moved to the Fire Nation, being responsible for the firelord’s life. But here… This is nothing. At least not for _them_. It’s an experience that I‘ve never thought that I would go through.” 

Sokka was quietly listening to her, sometimes nodding to show that he was paying attention to her words. Usually Suki talks in a way to make her seem like the most confident person in the world – not in a cocky way, no, but in a way that makes people respect and admire her –, but right now she was just… Tired. It’s like the words were just falling from her mouth, like she wasn’t thinking this through, and that’s probably why she was talking in a lower rhythm. 

“I get that.” He finally said when he realized that she wasn’t going to add anything. “I felt somewhat like this when I started to travel with the avatar, the youngest waterbending master and the greatest earthbender in the world.” He left out a small giggle. “It was obviously more me being insecure, because they’re my friends and would never judge me for being a non bender, but it was though feeling like I was not special like them.”

“But you are special.” She said immediately, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I know, but sometimes I forget it, and it’s okay if you feel the same.” He smiled. “I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I just want you to know that you can talk to me about this. It’s something that not really everyone understands, but I do.” 

Suki quietly thanked him, barely whispering the words. There was so much she wanted to say, but it’s complicated to formulate an actual phrase. She didn’t even notice when her hands rested on his shoulders, only understanding what was going on when she felt his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to sit on his lap so he could hug her. 

And all of a sudden she was sixteen again, allowing herself to melt in the arms of the boy she loved – _loves_. There isn’t much to say, or even to think, she’s just holding him closer and resting her face on his neck. It was a feeling of safeness. 

They spent a few minutes like this, like there were only them and the rest of the world was fading away. She felt Sokka’s hands on her head, kindly playing with her hair before kissing the back of her neck. 

“You’re the best boyfriend in all the four nations.” Suki whispered in his ears, being able to feel his cheeks becoming a little hotter.

“Well, I don’t think that checking on my girlfriend is a big thing, but I try my best.” He chuckled awkwardly. 

“It means a lot to me.” She explained, raising her head to look at him. 

There was an exchange of looks. First Suki’s eyes were on his lips, then on his eyes, waiting for his response. And then there was a smile, saying everything that she needed to know. It was just a quick and silly kiss that barely made any sound, but Suki still has a difficult time displaying affection. For Sokka’s it’s a more natural thing, like kissing her is just as common as breathing, and she really doesn’t mind being surprised by his lips, while for her is more like a movement of her arms or her legs, something that it’s not as automatic and needs the brain’s permission to happen. 

She remembers studying a lot about this during the beginning of her kyoshi warrior training, learning how important it was to synchronize her breathing with her body. Ask her to fight a whole army by herself and she’ll do it, ask her to kiss a boy or a girl and we might have a problem. It’s even funny to think about it. 

“Have I mentioned before how important it was for me to meet you?” Sokka asked, probably noticing how her thoughts were in a different place again. 

Suki frowned, trying to remember a conversation about this. Sokka has said many things about her. 

“You can always remind me of it.” 

“Well, you’re always teaching me a lot of things.” He began. “Like how amazing women can be and everything about Kyoshi’s life as a warrior and an individual, but most importantly you showed me how powerful non benders my age can be. Before Kyoshi Island, I’ve never had someone actually teaching me how to fight, especially with fans and wearing a dress.”

“Not a dress.” 

“You know what I mean.” He laughed. “Anyway… When my father and the other men left, I lost my opportunity to actually be a warrior. I knew about our traditions, I’ve been doing our warpainting since I was little, but I couldn’t fight. Zuko kicked my ass when we first met.” 

Suki covered her mouth to hold her giggle, making Sokka roll his eyes while genuinely grinning. 

“It’s a little complicated to explain, but it’s way easier for me to relate to you than to any of my other friends, even my own sister.” He explained, having a hard time finding the right words. “It’s important for me to see strong non benders fighting, and you were the first one that I met. It’s very meaningful and you never cease to amaze me and… Oh, no, you’re crying. Why are you crying? Is it because I called your uniform a dress? See, I really meant no harm, it’s just… Well… You-“

Without really thinking this time, she shut him up with a kiss. “You really talk too much.”

He spent a few seconds in shock, not really expecting her to do this with tears rolling from her eyes, but the big smile on her face was enough for him. 

“If that’s what it takes to make my girl feel like the most precious being in the world – no, the universe! Then I’ll do it gladly.” He said while wiping away her tears.

“You dork.” Suki thought about saying that she loved him in that moment, but the words were stuck in her throat – but it’s okay, because he understands her better than anyone. “I’ve never really thought about all of this before, so maybe that’s why my head’s a little messy. That’s probably because I’m always surrounded by non benders, it’s hard to believe that someone actually despise us for stupid reasons.” 

Sokka nodded his head in agreement. “Maybe if they met the Kyoshi Warriors they would know that they shouldn’t mess with a non bender.” 

“Oh, the next time we fight them, they’ll know this for sure.” She assured, already with that fierce look in her eyes. 

“That’s the Suki I know!” 

They could probably spend the rest of the day that way, sitting close and talking about everything that they loved about each other, but the groans of the guards being healed and the sound of rocks colliding against each other while Toph fixed the damages reminded them that they were still on duty. The business council was attacked, Liling was free and the bender supremacists were ready to fight. They should be too.

Suki was the first to stand up, still holding Sokka’s hands to help him to do the same. 

“I should probably check on the other guards, we were very lucky next to some of them.” She said after an awkward silence. 

“Don’t worry about them. Did you know that my sister’s the best healing in the world?” He winked. “You should go see her too. You know, for being almost crushed by a rock.” Suki felt his hands on her injuries, slightly caressing it so it wouldn’t hurt her. 

It was not worth it to try to argue with him about that, he was rightfully worried about her, so she just agreed with her head. Sokka opened his mouth, about to say something else, but was interrupted by Aang calling his name. 

“The avatar’s calling.” He grumbled. “Well, I need to see what he wants, but please try to rest a little and not worry about everything right now, okay? After all of this is over, we’ll have the best vacation on Kyoshi Island, just you and me!”

Still with a big smile on his face, he pulled her face closer, pressing his nose and upper lip against her cheek and breathing in – she stills remembers when Sokka explained to her that this is a kunik, a form to express affection very common on the water tribes. It was very casual and quickly, but was enough to make her heart flutter again. 

He was about to let go and walk away, but Suki holded his hands. She looked down, already feeling her face getting warm. 

“What’s wrong?” He started to get worried by her silence. 

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, tightening the grip on his hand. 

“I…” Her voice died again. She sighed, already feeling defeated. _Why are feelings such a hard thing to deal with?_ “Thank you, Sokka. You’re very important to me.”

It wasn’t what Sokka was expecting to hear, but that didn’t stop the large grin on his face. 

“I love you too, Suki.” 

And it was enough for her – _for both of them._


End file.
